NGC2068 (M78) in Orion

An eerie blue glow and ominous columns of dark dust highlight NGC2068 and other bright reflection nebula in the constellation of Orion. The dark filamentary dust not only absorbs light, but also reflects the light of several bright blue stars that formed recently in the nebula. Of the two reflection nebulas pictured above, the more famous nebula is more commonly known as M78, near the image center, while NGC 2071 can be seen to its lower left. The same type of scattering that colors the daytime sky further enhances the blue color. This is a total of 90 minutes of exposure on January 17, 2013. Click on the image for a closer view.